The 74th Cannes Film Festival came to an end on Saturday night. It was a sweaty fest full of tourists more interested in the beach than the world premieres and lots of spitting in testing vials for non-Europeans, but it proved that a major festival could return at full capacity during the age of COVID. And, a jury comprised of notable industry players Spike Lee, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Tahar Rahim, among others, selected Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” to win the prestigious Palme d’ Or. A winner that was revealed when Lee mentioned it by accident before any of the other winners were announced. A shocking moment, to be frank.
The last time the Cannes Film Festival handed out the Palme was in 2019 and that began a journey for Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” that concluded with a historic Best Picture win. If “Titane” can even land an Oscar nomination outside of the International Film category, it will be a major achievement for NEON which is the distributor of both Palme d’Or Winners.
READ MORE: Best Of Cannes 2021: 15 Must-See Movies From The Festival
It was a huge night for NEON overall as Renate Reinsve won Best Actress for “The Worst Person in the World” and Apichatpong Weerasethakul for “Memoria” (tie). The other Jury Prize went to Nadav Lapid’s “Ahed’s Knee.”
Caleb Landry Jones won Best Actor for Justin Kurzel’s “Nitram.”
Films overlooked by the jury included celebrated American works such as Sean Baker’s “Red Rocket” and Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” as well as Mia Hansen-Love’s “Bergman Island.”
Here’s a complete list of all tonight’s winners.
Palme d’Or: Julia Ducournau’s “Titane”
Grand Prix: Asghar Farhadi, “A Hero” and Juho Kuosmanen’s “Compartment no. 6”
Jury Prize: Apichatpong Weerasethakul for “Memoria” and Nadav Lapid’s “Ahed’s Knee” (tie)
Best Director: Leos Carax, “Annette”
Best Actress: Renate Reinsve, “The Worst Person in the World”
Best Actor: Caleb Landry Jones, “Nitram”
Best Screenplay: Hamaguchi Ryusuke and Takamasa Oe, “Drive My Car”
The Un Certain Regard selection winners were announced earlier this week and are as follows:
Prix Un Certain Regard: “Razzhimaya Kulaki” Director Kira Kovalenko
Jury Prize: “Die Grosse Freiheit (Great Freedom)” Director Sebastian Meise
Ensemble Prize: “Bonne Mère” Director Hafsia Herzi
Courage Prize: “La Civil” Director Teodora Ana Mihai
Prize of Originality: “Lamb” Director Valdimar Johannson
Special Mention: “Prayers for the Stolen” Director Tatiana Huezo
Follow along with our full coverage from the 2021 Cannes Film Festival here.